It was only in 1901 that the Executive Mansion, as it was then called, received its final name: the “White House”, under Theodor Roosevelt. According to the legend, the name “White House” would come from “White Plantation House” where George Washington met his wife Martha in New Kent, Virginia. But in reality, it was painted white since the very beginning.

George Washington and his brother-in-arms, the French engineer Pierre Charles Lenfant (who gave the plan of Washington) made their decision about the location of the new residence and James Hoban was chosen as an architect. Washington judged it too small however and Hoban expanded the house adding a reception hall, the present East Room, inspired by Mount Vernon. A portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart (1797) can be seen in this room used for press conferences, entertainments and ceremonies. The first President of the United States never occupied the house, he died one year earlier.

The works were performed between October 1792 and November 1800 by slaves, Scottish and Italian emmigrants in the neo-Palladian Style (currently known as Georgian Style in English-speaking countries). The first President to live in the White House was John Adams. It was very much damaged in 1812 as the British tried to recuperate their colonies.

When Thomas Jefferson became President, Benjamin Latrobe expanded the building. The South façade with the semicircular portico was erected in 1829. It was inspired by the French Château de Rastignac in Dordogne (See: “The True White House: A Controversy”).

The White House: the South portico inspired by the Château de Rastignac (France).

The Mansion was constantly improved and renovated. Under President Harry S. Truman, the rooms were dismantled and reorganized whilst a new steel framework was constructed. The White House counts 6 floors and a basement.

The First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy gave a new birth to the Executive Residence by redecorating with high quality furniture forgotten in the basements. Each room features a different style corresponding to the beginning of the Republic: – the Federal Style was used for the Green Room – the French Empire Style for the Blue Room – the American Empire Style for the Red Room – the Louis XVI Style for the Yellow Oval Room and the Victorian Style for the Treaty room.

The White House can be visited. 4500 tickets are delivered a day. You will see 15 rooms out of the 132, and the discovery will last only 20 minutes. The Oval Office, traditionally used by the President, with the famous Resolute Desk, is redecorated each time a new President is elected.

The White House: the Green Room (Federal Style).

The White House: The Blue Room (French Empire Style).

The White House: the Red Room (American Empire Style).

The White House: The Yellow Oval Room (Louis XVI Style).

The White House: The Oval Office with the Resolute Desk (made in the wood from the British HMS Resolute) is in the West Wing.